New York City’s eight specialized public high schools have long accepted fewer girls than boys. A study drawing new attention to that disparity finds the entry exam underestimates girls’ academic success.

As debate swirls over Mayor Bill de Blasio’s call to scrap the single exam that determines entry, a study from Hunter College’s Gender Equity Project says the test screens out many girls who would thrive at these schools, which are largely geared toward the sciences. Girls received only 44% of the offers for the current school...